It is reported that the father of one of the greatest Saints and scholars of his era, namely Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mubaarak – may Allah be pleased with him – was once a slave. He used to take care of a certain person’s orchard.

One day, the owner of this pomegranate orchard asked him to bring a pomegranate so that he could taste it. He also said that the fruit needs to be sweet. The blessed father of this Saint broke a pomegranate and when the owner tasted it, it was extremely bitter. Obviously, the owner became extremely angry. It is mentioned that on three occasions, he brought pomegranates which were extremely bitter. The owner, in a fit of anger, asked him, “Until now, you cannot recognize a sweet pomegranate from a bitter one?” The blessed Muslim replied, “The only method of knowing a bitter fruit from a ripe one is to eat it and until now I have never ever eaten a fruit from any of these trees.”

The owner replied, “You were given permission to look after the orchard.”

But the blessed Muslim said, “Yes, that is true, but you had not given me permission to eat any fruit.”

These words certainly shocked the owner of the orchard and he began to look at this slave in a new light. After careful investigation, he found that indeed this person whose name was Mubaarak had certainly never ever eaten anything from any of these trees.

In fact, the owner was so impressed by the honesty of this blessed slave that he agreed to his daughter marrying this slave. It is from this blessed female that one of the greatest scholars and Saints was born, namely Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mubaarak – may Allah be pleased with him. The status achieved by this Saint and scholar needs no further explanation. (Waafiyaat Al ‘Ayaan)